In an extraordinary feat of space engineering, a Chinese satellite performed a groundbreaking maneuver to prevent a potential asteroid disaster. The asteroid, known as 1994 PC1, is a colossal celestial body comparable in size to San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Astronomers had difficulty accurately tracking the asteroid’s path due to its sheer distance. However, … Read more
Mars We may have more than twice as many encounters with potentially dangerous asteroids as Earth does, according to a new study. This could jeopardize exploration missions to the Red Planet, but also provide insight into how the inner solar system formed. Asteroids pose the greatest threat from space to our planet – the 2013 … Read more
OSIRIS-APEX emerged “unscathed” from its closest-ever pass to our sun on January 2, scientists announced on Tuesday (May 28). The probe, originally known as OSIRIS-RExhas completed its monster return mission to the asteroid Bennu and is now headed to the space rock Apophis on an extended mission. That new mission requires OSIRIS-APEX to hover 40 … Read more
NASA’s mission to the metal kingdoms asteroid 16 Psyche has started its ion engines and is now sailing over the solar system under the power of solar-electric propulsion. The launch of the spacecraft, which is also called Psycheon October 13, 2023, it provided enough initial momentum to carry it through more than 300 million kilometers … Read more
NASA’s mission to the metal kingdoms asteroid 16 Psyche has started its ion engines and is now sailing over the solar system under the power of solar-electric propulsion. The launch of the spacecraft, which is also called Psycheon October 13, 2023, it provided enough initial momentum to carry it through more than 300 million kilometers … Read more
Enlarge / The surface of Ryugu. Image credits: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, Aizu University, AIST An asteroid that has been drifting through space for billions of years will be bombarded by everything from rocks to radiation. Billions of years of traveling through interplanetary … Read more